Acer on Thursday contributed its own more frugal entry into the home server space within the US through the Aspire easyStore Home Server AH340. Similar to HP's MediaSmart LX195, the easyStore runs on a 1.6GHz Atom to manage traffic to and from the server without the cost overhead of other processors. Acer's larger design, however, affords it four 3.5-inch drive bays that can take as much as 8TB of storage if completely filled.

As a Windows Home Server, the easyStore lets both Macs and Windows PCs both backup content or use the server as a central base for media; owners can access much of the content remotely and upload photos or other content while away. Despite the Microsoft focus, it supports DLNA media sharing on the home network to bring its content to a PlayStation 3 or other PCs and devices that recognize the standard.

The AH340 comes with a 1TB drive already installed as well as five USB ports and one eSATA port for adding extra storage. It should be available today for $400.